The Old English epic Beowulf remains familiar to readers through its editions, translations, and transformations. These three types of Beowulfiana represent a massive corpus of over 1000 works according to the Beowulf’s Afterlives Bibliographic Database; though, as medievalists, we tend to focus on the first two categories rather than the last. New versions of the story feature in all forms of modern medievalisms, yet (as is true with most medieval texts) research continues to focus primarily on depictions of Beowulf on screen (about 100 examples according to the Internet Movie Database). We hope in this session to expand our view of Beowulf’s reception by creative artists and look more deeply at the text’s wider use. We are particularly interested in explorations of the adaptation and/or appropriation of the text, its characters, and its themes in works of fiction (at least 250 examples according to the Internet Speculative Fiction Database and much more recorded by the Beowulf’s Afterlives Bibliographic Database) and comics (at least 380 examples according to the Grand Comics Database), as well as in new and neglected works on film, television, entertainment consoles, and the Internet. Additional versions of the tale can be found in works of creative, performative, and visual arts. Submissions should highlight the ways the new text transforms the old as well as its value in furthering the Beowulf tradition.

The Old English epic Beowulf remains an important touchstone for connecting us to the medieval past, yet it also has continued relevance today through its various transformations in popular culture. This panel seeks to expand our knowledge of these texts and assess their potential for research and teaching.